Seats of the generic type have an occupant detector which may be included, for example, in a signaling device for unbelted occupants located on the seat. Furthermore, incorporating the occupant detector in the triggering controller of an airbag is conceivable.
Until now, such an occupant detector has been implemented, for example, by a plastic film having capacitive sensors located between the covering and cushion element of the seat. However, this solution has significant disadvantages. Occupant detectors of this type are complex and costly to manufacture, difficult to position and not permanently fixed, have a poor influence on the seat climate and the seat comfort and obstruct the integration of additional seat elements such as a seat heater.
A further possibility for implementing an occupant detector is installing a scale in the seat frame, which, however, requires costly and complex electronics and is also costly and complex to manufacture.